SWIMCITY, U.S.A.—The climate of SwimCity is humid subtropical, with temperatures hovering around an equatorial 78 degrees between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. It is a small city, boasting about 60 full-time residents, though quadruple this number in tourists and drifters clog its thoroughfares at any given time,… »2/13/15 2:07pm 2/13/15 2:07pm

TOKYO — I came to watch Japan's top racehorses, arguably the strongest in the world, contest last Sunday's Japan Cup, worth more than $5 million. I left believing that the reason the Japanese racing industry is so much healthier and more popular than any of its counterparts is about much more than the quality of…»12/11/14 12:23pm 12/11/14 12:23pm

TOKYO — One of the most-watched and best-attended sporting events in the world took place in Tokyo last Sunday. More than 100,000 people, thousands of whom slept outside overnight, streamed into Tokyo Racecourse for the $5 million-plus Japan Cup. But as the Cup's 18 runners entered the walking ring just after three…»12/05/14 4:58pm 12/05/14 4:58pm

Whenever I hear hardcore cycling fans explain the Tour de France to novices, they seem to emphasize one aspect of the race—the suffering—above the rest. Sure, they talk about the sprints and the hills and the strategy, and explain how the cobbles of northern France, when wet, make the road as slippery as a skating… »7/17/14 4:01pm 7/17/14 4:01pm

Before Jürgen Klinsmann snubbed Landon Donovan, before he coached Bayern Munich or the U.S. and German national teams, before he won the UEFA Cup as a player with Internazionale and again with Bayern, before winning the World Cup and captaining the German team to the European Championship, he lived with his parents in… »5/27/14 4:52pm 5/27/14 4:52pm

It's been a long day and you've been busting your ass on the radio for hours and hours, dishing out your strong takes to the loyal listeners of ESPN's regional radio affiliate in Altoona. You need a break. You need to come in from the WINDSWEPT MOONSCAPE of this cold weather Super Bowl week. Well, my friend,… »1/29/14 6:30pm 1/29/14 6:30pm

What is the secret to unlocking your personal potential and creating a more harmonious society? A San Francisco company says you can find it between every woman's legs. Gawker's Nitasha Tiku investigates, step by step.»10/16/13 1:15pm 10/16/13 1:15pm

TORONTO—"Dear Toronto Pro Supershow Delegate," read a slip of paper handed to everyone checking in at Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel on Friday. "For your convenience we have 'Special Towels' through our Housekeeping Department. We recommend that these special towels/ linens be used in conjunction with any treatments… »6/11/13 3:00pm 6/11/13 3:00pm

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—That fucking bell. There's always a split-second between the moment a contestant at the Scripps National Spelling Bee finishes a word and the moment that bell rings out, and in that split-second you can see everything: panic, fear, terror, embarrassment, denial, anger ... all of it. »5/31/13 5:15pm 5/31/13 5:15pm

There are 45 tables set up down in Exhibit Hall C of the Woodley Park Marriott in Washington, D.C., a hotel roughly the size of the Pentagon. Each table has a black tablecloth, a Diamond Anniversary Edition Scrabble board, a crushed velvet tile bag, two racks, four all-purpose banquet chairs (able to switch… »5/13/13 2:59pm 5/13/13 2:59pm

DENVER— By almost every measure, Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., is a thoroughly modern stadium. Built for $147 million in 2007 and home to Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids since then, it seats 18,000 soccer fans just north of Denver. The entire complex contains 24 soccer fields. It's as… »3/26/13 5:00pm 3/26/13 5:00pm

The thing about the Westminster Dog Show is (and this is going to sound obvious) that there are so many dogs. If you watch the primetime TV broadcast, you see one of each breed—a perfect kibble-sized snapshot of the dog world. But attending the show, something you should absolutely do if you're in New York, is… »2/12/13 6:40pm 2/12/13 6:40pm

Welcome to Dogs in Donut Coats Deadspin's seventh annual coverage of the Westminster Dog Show, featuring a dog in a donut coat. If you're only here for the dogs in donut coats, you can leave now, because there are no more. Otherwise: welcome. Donut-coatless dogs are within. »2/11/13 6:05pm 2/11/13 6:05pm

MEXICO CITY—Freedom Sports & Fun Bar is located in a neighborhood here called Del Valle, where many of the streets are named after American cities. Boston, Detroit, and Sacramento run east and west just outside the bar. But inside, the only city with any cachet is Pittsburgh, especially on Sundays in the fall, when… »1/04/13 2:45pm 1/04/13 2:45pm

I went to LA this fall to profile Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg, formerly Snoop Doggy Dogg) for GQ. You can read the whole story right here. Suffice it to say, it's extremely weed-heavy. In fact, I dare say that Snoop deserves the honorific "President of Weed." I don't know who else could challenge him for it.… »1/03/13 1:20pm 1/03/13 1:20pm

After 99.75 miles and more than 16 hours of running, Thomas Lorblanchet comes striding slowly down 6th Street in Leadville, Colo. It's almost 9 on an August night, and as he crests a small hill, his way is lit only by his headlamp and the glowing light from the one-story houses that line the street. His strides are… »12/10/12 1:34pm 12/10/12 1:34pm

CAIRO—Outside the International Cairo Stadium complex, there were maybe a dozen policemen on horseback greeting the crowd for World Wrestling Entertainment's first visit to Egypt. Families had brought little kids, and vendors hawked national flags and SpongeBob SquarePants t-shirts. »11/16/12 2:55pm 11/16/12 2:55pm